Page 51 of Justice & Liberty

“Naive?”

“Admirable. Being jaded isn’t a good answer to the world’s problems. You’re something else, Jaycie. No wonder Justice is your name. You’re faced with magic and somehow summon Dez Reilly from the ether. You lose your mom and start building a family around yourself—a family she’d have been damn proud of, for the record.” She reached over and took my hand in hers, squeezing tight. “I was starting to think maybe coming back to South Liberty was a mistake, but...that was wrong. This is exactly where I want to be. I just want to be here with you. With Rita and Abigail Collins and Reverend Tim and the fucking ghost of my childhood babysitter’s boyfriend. This is the last thing I ever expected, but it’s...it’s magical.”

And then she kissed me.

I always thought that whole “sparks flew” thing was reserved for romance novels and movie special effects, but this kiss was really, truly perfect. Her lips were soft, like she used ChapStick regularly, and she was gentle but not remotely tentative, and it added up to the sexiest thing ever.

I leaned right back into her, and before she even had the chance to deepen the kiss, I did it myself, opening my mouth, reaching out to run my tongue over her lower lip until she opened in return.

Not letting life lead me anymore, I decided to myself, and pushed forward, plumbing the depths of her hot mouth, practically climbing over the console to get closer to her, and she responded exactly in kind, wrapping her arm around me and pulling me against her, our breasts pressed together between us, so hard I could barely breathe, and it just...it didn’t matter.

Who needed to breathe? I had the taste of Hunter Grant on my tongue. That was all I needed in my entire life.

We broke apart finally, both of us gasping for air, and she licked her lips, like she was trying to commit the taste of me to memory. “Fucking magical,” she said again, her voice slightly raspy this time, and then she dove back in for another kiss.

I suspected we’d have gotten a lot farther than that, except that I leaned forward too far and my hip hit the car horn, making both of us jump and then dissolve into laughter.

We slid apart and she shook her head, face full of wonder. “I never thought I was going to make out in a car again after I got out of college. You keep doing unexpected things, Justice Chesapeake Jones.”

“I’d say unexpected is my middle name, but you know...it’s Chesapeake.” I grinned back. Glancing to one side, I saw Dez standing in the front window watching us and looking amused. Jerk.

How the hell was I ever going to get Hunter into my bed, when I had a permanent house guest, and one I was responsible for summoning?

On the other hand, I didn’t have a bed for it either. Just my childhood twin, or Mom’s bed, and I was not up for having sex in either option.

I sighed and frowned. “I need to buy a new bed.” Hunter lifted a brow in question, so I explained. “All I have are Mom’s bed or the twin I slept in as a kid. I’ve been using the twin since I got back. Or the couch.”

“We can go to my place for dinner next time,” she offered, a sly smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “I’m renting that little pink cottage just off Six, and I have a king sized bed.”

“It’s a date,” I agreed, and leaned back in to kiss her once more.

We broke apart more quickly that time, though shestopped in the drive, kissing me again while we were both on our feet, before getting into her car to leave. “I’m going to look into this lawyer a little more. See what else we can do with them. Meet you in the café tomorrow morning?”

“I sure hope so,” I agreed. “We can have dinner. After, you know, spending the day investigating.”

Damn, was I a terrible person for wanting to get laid while Sabrina was in jail? Probably. But we weren’t leaving her there. We just didn’t have proof she hadn’t done it yet. The arraignment was on Monday according to Walter, but he had no idea how they were going to cover bail.

I kept hoping that we’d have her out before it came to that.

It just wasn’t right, having Sabrina deal with any of this, when I knew in my bones that she was innocent.

I watched Hunter pull out of the driveway, feeling like a teenager who’d just gone on a first date.

When I got inside, I held up a finger at Dez and the cats. “Not a word.”

He threw up his hands defensively. “Wasn’t gonna say a word.” Then his expression turned amused. “I mean, I always knew Hunt was gonna be a heartbreaker. But damn, she’s good.”

“Hopefully she doesn’t go breaking any hearts,” I mumbled, tossing the letter onto the counter. “Since mine would be the one on the chopping block.”

“Nah, she’s a good kid.” He stopped and considered the words, then looked at me again. “She’s, like, way older than me now, but I can’t stop seeing her as a six-year-old who told me one day she was gonna swipe my girl. Is that weird?”

I shrugged. “Is anything about this situation normal? You’re a ghost living with someone who wasn’t born till after you died. I...I’m sorry about this.”

That seemed to catch him off guard, and he came over tolean on the counter next to me. I wondered absently how he did that, since he couldn’t turn on the TV. “Sorry about what?”

What? He couldn’t be serious. “About summoning you up against your will, and how you seem to be stuck here. You get like, eight or ten hours a day off, and then you’re just...back. Every day so far.”

“Dude, no way. This is fun. Besides, what’s the other option? I’m dead. It’s not like you’re dragging me away from my lucrative life as a pro baseball pitcher. Which wasn’t going to happen anyway, for the record. I was good for small town Iowa, but I was gonna be lucky to keep a college scholarship with it, let alone go pro after that.” He made a face, then shook his head. “That’s the bad part about having scientists for parents. They’re always being ‘rational’ about everything, and won’t let a guy dream big.”

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